Wireless Joint

I have a weak antenna signal. Two 10-15 dBi gain (which seems to me max gain available for 700 MHz range) yagi pointed toward the tower (about 5 miles away and entirely blocked by hills and trees) hooked up to the mofi 4500 gives signal strength reading RSRP -102 to -99 dBm (on good day)...

I have a cel fi go booster I was using before discovering this forum and the magic of LTE routers. Could I connect the antennas to the booster amplifier and then the booster amplifier to the mofi, so as to provide the router with the better boosted signal? There are connection ports on the booster I could use for this (would connect the router to where the indoor antenna for the booster normally connects), but I don’t know enough about compatibility to know if this would work or break both.

(Sorry if this is a stupid question!)

I tried this with my WeBoost a few weeks ago.

I connected the cable that previously went from the amplifier to the internal antenna to the primary antenna port on my mofi and left the "paddle" antenna on the secondary mofi antenna port.

Signal strength on the Mofi was at -60, (normally in high -90s or low -100s so similar to you) but there was no magical jump in download or upload speed.

No damage to my equipment while doing this, but others may be able to make better recommendations.

hbr245b wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 9:30 am I tried this with my WeBoost a few weeks ago.

Thanks for sharing. Good to know it didn’t break anything. Interesting that the signal reading was better but no practical effect to speed. Maybe I’ll give it a shot. But I guess if it was a magic bullet, others would be doing it and writing about it here, so...

lawnmowerman wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 4:27 pm Thanks for sharing. Good to know it didn’t break anything. Interesting that the signal reading was better but no practical effect to speed. Maybe I’ll give it a shot. But I guess if it was a magic bullet, others would be doing it and writing about it here, so...

Boosters will usually increase your signal strength (RSSI), but that doesn't necessarily translate into better speeds.
The most important part is the signal quality RSRQ. not the RSSI. While boosters will increase the RSSI, they will generally degrade the RSRQ, therefore no speed improvements. Only high end and expensive boosters will maintain a low signal to noise ratio, and those are in the thousands of dollars.
A better solution is to use a high quality, high gain external antenna system without a booster, and/or upgrade the modem to a higher CAT#.

BillA wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 1:52 am A better solution is to use a high quality, high gain external antenna system without a booster, and/or upgrade the modem to a higher CAT#.

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I’ve been working on enhancing the antenna setup for weeks, months really...

Right now I have two antennas , but haven’t had much luck finding any antennas with a higher gain (beyond 10-12 dB) in the 700 MHz frequency range - based on my research/testing, band 13 provides the best signal. Any advice on which antennas to try next would be most welcome, although I’m also trying to work with what I’ve got.

I’ve tried raising their height but seemed to have reached a threshold there, as it’s impossible to get over the trees/hills from my vantage point.

I’ve been reading that panel antennas may work better but am not sure that is ideal for my situation, if I’m really just targeting one tower (I’m in a pocket surrounded my hills/trees, can only really get signal from one tower).

lawnmowerman wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 9:39 am Any advice on which antennas to try next would be most welcome, although I’m also trying to work with what I’ve got.

I’ve tried raising their height but seemed to have reached a threshold there, as it’s impossible to get over the trees/hills from my vantage point.

I’ve been reading that panel antennas may work better but am not sure that is ideal for my situation, if I’m really just targeting one tower (I’m in a pocket surrounded my hills/trees, can only really get signal from one tower).

It's hard to say which type of antenna would work best in you particular situation, but you could try Yagi's for pinpoint accuracy.
698-3800MHz LPDA Yagi Radome 9dBi-11dBi Cellular Directional Antenna
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/antennas/4g-lte ... l-antenna/

Flat panels seem to be less finicky adjusting them, and lost of folks have given rave reviews.
700-2700MHz WiFi 4G LTE 8dBi Directional MIMO Antenna (± 45°) RJ45 Connector
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/antennas/4g-lte ... 1-45-rj45/